Against All Odds

Author's note:

Here comes a romance of roughly 20k words. It's a stand-alone without further instalments. I hope you enjoy it and leave a vote or a comment.

The sexual content is minimal, so if you're looking for quick stimulation, I'm afraid this isn't the right story for you.

My thanks go to my editors Joffa and another one preferring to remain anonymous. Their contribution makes my story readable. All mistakes you find happened only after their final input and are totally my fault and responsibility.

+++

The Betrayal

I was in an elated mood when I entered my tiny studio in the late afternoon, coming home after one of the most eventful days in my life so far. In the afternoon, I had defended my Master's thesis about the importance of user-friendliness of software interfaces in front of the panel of examiners. Of course, they hadn't given me the result, but I knew with absolute certainty that I had nailed it. Then, as I was about to leave the room in which I had presented my work and the findings, a man who had been quietly sitting in the back asked me for a quick meeting. He asked a couple of questions regarding my person and my future goals and then offered me a job in a small software company. It was a great position with lots of potential as a designer of user interfaces.

To say I was stunned would have been an understatement. I asked for a couple of days to think about it so I could talk to my family and, most importantly, my girlfriend. The job required a move across the country.

Even though I was a bit later than originally planned, I expected Lara to be home as she knew I would be in a celebratory mood, but to my astonishment, she wasn't there. When I tried to call her, I was sent directly to her voicemail and my text remained unread. Without any information on her whereabouts, I decided to visit my parents. I had a rather delicate relationship with them but at the moment, I didn't want to be alone.

Two years ago, after the Bachelor's degree award ceremony, I had invited my family to a restaurant for a celebration dinner. During dessert, my parents had told me that it was time to either move out or start contributing to the household expenses. The figure they quoted for board and lodge was high enough to pay for a three-bedroom apartment if I wasn't picky about the neighbourhood. I was so pissed at their timing that I didn't even consider staying at home but instead immediately started looking for an apartment. My quest to secure a scholarship was unsuccessful, so I also looked for and found a job as a telemarketer which offered very flexible hours and allowed me to earn just enough for a small studio plus living costs. What had annoyed me the most, was that I remembered all too well how they had helped my brother Andrew by giving him the equity for his new house. It took a couple of months until my parents and I reconciled but, in the end, we reached some kind of understanding which allowed us to move on.

Nevertheless, I almost burst to share my news with somebody, so I decided to go and visit them to tell about both the successful completion of my studies and the job I had been offered. When I reached their house, I found the driveway blocked by my brother's new Mercedes. It had been an early birthday gift from our parents after he had remarked that the six-year-old Ford he was driving wasn't in the best shape anymore and made some clattering noises. I had tried to buy his former car from him but he said he had already agreed to give it to the dealer as part payment.

I didn't have the best relationship with Andrew either. I was only two years younger than he was, but his complete opposite. He was one-metre-ninety-eight like our Dad, while I had stopped growing at one seventy-three, about the same height as Mum. In school, he was the typical muscular jock excelling in all sports but barely scraping through academically while I was scrawny and couldn't catch a ball to save my life but effortlessly reached full marks in all school subjects, besides being a member of most academic school groups. He had been with the popular crowd while I was being shunned even by the nerds due to my brother's well-known dislike for me and nobody wanted to get on the wrong side of him. But today, I didn't want to care about that. I wanted to share the good news with somebody and that I would most likely move away and leave town would probably go down well with him.

It was late in the afternoon as I parked the car at the curb and walked up to my parents' house. As usual, I didn't wait for somebody to open the door but knocked and walked in. I found my parents in the living room watching TV. That was rather untypical for them. Usually at this time of the day, Mum would be in the kitchen preparing dinner for Dad while he would either be at work or spending his time in his hobby room.

Shortly after I had moved out, Mum had converted my old bedroom to a studio which she used for painting. Dad had, for as long as I remembered, used the fourth bedroom for the electric train set which he had built conscientiously over the years.

"Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad. How's it going?"

"George?! What are you doing here? You didn't call to say you were coming!"

What kind of greeting was that? I had long ago acquiesced that I was the second favourite child of the two they had, but we hadn't seen each other in a couple of weeks and that was how they greeted me?

"Lara wasn't home and I had so much fantastic news today, I felt like sharing. Where's Andrew? I saw his car in the driveway."

I asked for him as I didn't want to repeat everything. If he was here, I could tell them all at the same time.

"Andrew? Oh... I... Um... They... Um... He... Um... He's not available," my father stuttered.

I just wanted to ask when he would be available when I heard a female voice that sounded suspiciously familiar and some noises from upstairs.

"Who's that? Is Lara up there?"

My parents exchanged a quick glance but didn't reply to my question. The way they looked at each other told me that something was very wrong here. I started towards the stairs leading to the upper floor when my Mum called out.

"George. Stop! Don't go upstairs."

I hesitated for a moment and heard the female voice again. This time I was quite sure that I recognised the voice of my girlfriend.

"Why not? What's going on?"

She again failed to reply to me so ignoring her protests and shaking off my father's hand when he tried to grab my arm, I rushed to the stairs and ran up. This was unmistakably Lara's voice I heard.

"Oh, God. Yes! Fuck me! Harder! Harder!"

Then I heard my brother.

"Yeah, you like that, don't you, you little bitch?"

I threw the door open and saw Andrew ploughing into Lara from behind, holding her ponytail in one hand. It took them until the door crashed against the wall to realise that it had been opened. When they turned around and saw me standing in the doorway, they scrambled off the bed and tried to cover themselves up.

I didn't say a word as I turned on my heel and started back downstairs. When I reached the ground floor where my parents still stood rooted to the spot, I stopped for a short moment to look at them.

"I don't know why you always prefer that cheating bastard over me but as of today, you don't have to worry about me anymore. I don't want to see either of you ever again. Don't call. Don't write. From my point of view, I'm an orphan."

I don't know what I expected but the defiance I saw in the eyes of the man I had called my father for twenty-four years showed me that he didn't care. A glance at the woman formerly known as Mum confirmed that, even though she at least looked somewhat upset, she wouldn't object to my leaving either. I continued out the door, went straight to my car, climbed in and left for home.

Once there, I parked my car in the underground garage and went upstairs. I locked the door, leaving the key in the lock so that it couldn't be opened from the outside, and started packing. I didn't have much to do. My clothes fitted into the three large suitcases and travel bags I owned and most of my books were already boxed as I had always been short on space in this apartment. The furniture belonged to the owner. I was ten minutes into packing when I heard somebody try to unlock the door. When it failed, she started pounding on the door.

"George! Please open. Let's talk."

Lara. Not my parents, not my brother. My ex-girlfriend. I decided to ignore her and finish packing. It wouldn't take more than another ten minutes.

"George! I know you're here. Please let me in, so we can talk."

When I was finished with packing, I picked up my phone and discovered that I had several unanswered calls and texts on it. I decided to leave them for the moment and started to dial the number of my landlord.

It didn't take long to sort out the apartment. The rent was paid until the end of the month and Mr Johnston generously accepted my termination by telephone. I promised to drop all the keys in his mailbox and he would pay for the cleaning of the studio out of the deposit before returning the remaining balance to me. He asked a couple more questions, we said our goodbyes and that was it.

Next, I called the police and asked them to come and make Lara leave me alone. After giving the lady all the information she needed, I ended the call, urging her to hurry up.

I then moved everything I had packed to the main door where Lara was still knocking and requesting entry. I hung the chain, unlocked and opened the door a little.

"Go away. We've got nothing to discuss."

"George. Thank God. Please. Open the door and let me in."

She put her hand to the door and tried to push it open but my foot and the chain prevented that.

"I won't let you in. Give me back the key you have and you can get a box with your stuff. Then you leave."

"George. I'm sorry. It was an accident."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. Was she really trying to use the oldest of all excuses?

"What are you trying to tell me? You and Andrew stumbled, your clothes dissipated and his cock fell into your cheating cunt?"

"That's not what I meant. It was a mistake."

She was really going through all the horrible clichés. Next, she'd probably say it wasn't what it looked like.

"It wasn't 'a' mistake. Up until the moment when his prick penetrated your twat you made dozens of decisions and every single one of them was a mistake. Now leave. We don't have anything more to discuss."

Tears started running down her face but I was unmoved by them.

"George. Please. I love you."

My answer was to slam the door shut. She was lucky that she hadn't put her hands in the gap. She resumed the knocking.

"George. Don't let it end like this. Don't throw the last two years away just because I made one mistake."

I sat down on the couch and pulled the phone out of my pocket and checked on the messages I had received.

Two texts from my Mum asking me to call her and let her explain. One from dad berating me for upsetting Mum and Andrew. There was also a voice message from Mum and several from Lara which she had probably recorded while driving here. I deleted all without acknowledging them and then proceeded to block the numbers of my parents, my brother and my Ex. I was just about done when Lara's tune changed.

"You called the cops on me? George! Please! Let me in to talk!"

I opened the door and saw two female police officers talking to Lara.

I greeted them politely, "Thank you for coming, officers. Lara, give me back the key to the apartment. I need to return it to the landlord."

"No. Not until you've talked to me."

"Officers, please take notice that she has refused to return the key I gave her. I vacate the apartment today, so I really need the key back because otherwise, I'll have to pay the landlord for replacing the locks," I stated before pushing a carton through the door. "This box contains all of Lara's stuff."

"Miss. Do yourself a favour, return the key and then leave the premises. If you refuse, we'll have to take you to the station, and you don't want that."

Lara was still crying when she looked at me.

"George. Please! Give me a chance to explain."

"There is nothing to explain. You cheated on me with my brother. You've obviously made your decision, now live with it. Give me the key and leave."

She started to slowly dig around in her handbag as if searching for her keys but looked at me and started speaking.

"You were either working or studying all the time and he was so charming..."

"Officers, please knock when you have the key and Ms Lara Torres has left the premises. I'd really appreciate it if you made sure that she isn't hiding in the garage, either."

I closed the door as I wasn't interested in seeing what happened. I just wanted the key back and Lara to be gone. Two minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. I checked through the spyhole and saw one of the two officers but nobody else. I opened the door.

"Yes, Officer?"

"Here is your key, Mr Henderson."

"Thank you very much for your help. I doubt the outcome would have been as civilised without you."

She rewarded me with a little smile and a nod.

"I'm glad that you called. All too often, men don't ask for help but react to such situations with violence which puts them in the place of the offender when they are, in fact, the victim."

I didn't feel very good right then and wasn't in the mood for a pep talk. Therefore, I made sure to keep this conversation as short as possible without being overly rude.

"Violence isn't in my nature. Thanks again for your help. Bye."

I waited for a couple of minutes before I started to carry my stuff to the car. I was very careful to never leave anything unlocked, just in case Lara came back. For the first time ever, I was glad to have a station wagon as I could easily fit everything into it. It wasn't much more than a fifteen-year-old pile of rust but it had been the only affordable car available on short notice when I bought it. When moving out from my parents following that disastrous celebration dinner, I had found myself needing transportation and had been extremely short of cash back then. I had asked my parents for help funding a newer model but they had refused, claiming I'd never see the worth of something if I didn't work for it myself.

While I drove to the highway, I had for the first time since entering my parents' house, the opportunity to reflect on what had happened. Within a few hours, I had received my Master's degree, got an offer for a great job with good pay and lots of opportunities, lost my girlfriend, and had broken off all contact with my family.

My brother! That bastard was married and had two children! He had knocked up one of his love affairs during the party after he had finished his training to become a plumber. Well, that's what happens when you don't use contraceptives but probably, he was just too fucking stupid to know how to use them.

I pulled into the gas station next to the highway ramp and got out to fill my tank. While I waited, I sent my brother's wife a text.

'Caught Andrew and Lara fucking at my parents' house today. I'm sorry but think you need to know.'

I had just paid and was about to leave when I received a reply.

'I've known for about half a year. Andrew doesn't know yet but I'm in contact with a lawyer for a divorce. Should have told you. Sorry.'

Half a year? What was about 'I made one mistake'? That lying bitch. I drove up on the highway, activated the cruise control and set out westwards. I assumed that she had never really loved me, more likely she had loved the income potential I had promised.

Mulling over everything that had occurred, I realised that Lara's cheating wasn't the worst. What weighed in far heavier was that everybody had been in on it and had either actively covered for them or failed to tell me. I felt betrayed by my brother, my father, my mother, my sister-in-law, and, of course, Lara. Sure, my parents and I did have some rough patches, but helping my brother and my girlfriend cheat on his wife and me was beyond anything I would have expected. That was a whole new level of spite.

The first night, I slept in the car at a highway rest stop. I called my new employers first thing in the morning to confirm that I accepted their job offer. When I asked for help finding accommodation, they were quick to offer support, even though I took them by surprise when I told them that I would arrive the same day. For the first two days, I stayed in a cheap hotel. Then I moved into a small studio they found me and started to look for a more suitable apartment. They gave me a few days to get settled and a week after my life had turned upside down, I started working in my new job.

A new life

Ten years later

"A user interface needing an instructional video is bullshit. How often do I need to explain this?"

"George. This isn't a simple smartphone app, this is a complex, professional application."

I was fuming. Since I started working here, I had applied the highest possible standards for everything that came out of my department. Of course, it hadn't been my department when I started, but it hadn't taken long to rise through the ranks of the rapidly growing company to the position I now held.

"That's why it needs to be self-explanatory. We don't have the average DAU (dumbest assumable user) working with the program. We're targeting well-qualified professionals who've hopefully been waiting for this kind of program for years and you want to make them watch a fifteen-minute video only to be able to perform the simplest of tasks? Are you crazy? They know what the app is supposed to be doing probably better than you do. You can't treat them like idiots!"

"There's a complex database..."

"I don't want to hear any excuses. In the ten years working for this company I've never sanctioned a user interface that needed explaining and I won't start with that today. You go back to the drawing board and start over if necessary. You have one week."

The shock on their faces was real. I knew that one week wasn't enough but what they had presented today was so horrible that I felt a little extra pressure might enable some creative thinking.

"One week? That's impossible and you know that!"

"In one week, you either present the concept of a self-explanatory user interface or I'll be looking for a new team."

*Cough*

"What?" I exclaimed, annoyed as I turned around to the disruptor.

"Ben, Amanda, hi," I greeted first my boss and then the head of human resources. "I was just explaining to my team what is expected of them."

My boss looked me in the eyes for a couple of seconds before addressing the people in the room.

"You get three weeks for an improved concept and don't you dare come back with something that's not up to our standards. Now get going. There's work to do."

They scrambled to collect their papers and notes and hurried past Ben and me out of the meeting room, realising that there was a storm brewing. Before I was able to complain about his interference, he raised his hand to quiet me until everybody but he and Amanda had left.

"When was your last holiday?" he asked before I had the opportunity to start venting.

"What?"

"Your last holiday. When was it and how long?"

What the fuck did that have to do with anything? I was trying to keep to a tight schedule and he asked about holidays? It took me a minute to remember.

"Three days, last month."

He looked at me with a clearly annoyed expression on his face.

"That wasn't a holiday. I sent you home because you were running a high fever and could barely stand upright."

"I wasn't in the office and that defines it as a holiday."